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your Bibles to Matthew chapter 
13. Matthew chapter 13 as we continue 
our exposition of this first gospel. by the Apostle Matthew 
concerning our Lord Jesus Christ. We're going to read verses 1 
to 23, and just take up the parable of the sower this morning, specifically 
the statement of the parable in verses 1 to 9, and then the 
purpose for parables in verses 10 to 17. God willing, we'll 
look at the explanation given by the Lord Jesus next Sunday 
morning. Just beginning in chapter 13 
at verse 1. On the same day, Jesus went out of the house and 
sat by the sea, and great multitudes were gathered together to Him, 
so that He got into a boat and sat, and the whole multitude 
stood on the shore. Then He spoke many things to 
them in parables, saying, Behold, a sower went out to sow, and 
as he sowed, some seed fell by the wayside, and the birds came 
and devoured them. Some fell on stony places where 
they did not have much earth, and they immediately sprang up 
because they had no depth of earth. But when the sun was up, 
they were scorched, and because they had no root, they withered 
away. And some fell among thorns, and 
the thorns sprang up and choked them. But others fell on good 
ground and yielded a crop, some a hundredfold, some 60, some 
30. He who has ears to hear, let 
him hear. And the disciples came and said 
to him, Why do you speak to them in parables? He answered and 
said to them, Because it has been given to you to know the 
mysteries of the kingdom of heaven. But to them it has not been given. For whoever has, to him more 
will be given, and he will have abundance. But whoever does not 
have, even what he has will be taken away from him. Therefore 
I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, 
and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand. And in 
them the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled, which says, hearing 
you will hear and shall not understand, and seeing you will see and not 
perceive. For the hearts of this people 
have grown dull. Their ears are hard of hearing 
and their eyes have closed. They have closed. Lest they should 
see with their eyes and hear with their ears. Lest they should 
understand with their hearts and turn, so that I should heal 
them. But blessed are your eyes for 
they see, and your ears for they hear. For assuredly I say to 
you that many prophets and righteous men desired to see what you see, 
and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear 
it. Therefore, hear the parable of the sower. When anyone hears 
the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, then the wicked 
one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. This is 
he who receives seed by the wayside. But he who received the seed 
on stony places, this is he who hears the word and immediately 
receives it with joy. Yet he has no root in himself, 
but endures only for a while. For when tribulation or persecution 
arises because of the word, immediately he stumbles. Now he who received 
seed among the thorns is he who hears the word, and the cares 
of this world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and 
he becomes unfruitful. But he who received seed on the 
good ground is he who hears the word and understands it, who 
indeed bears fruit and produces. Psalm 100 fold, Psalm 60, Psalm 
30. Amen. Well, let us pray. Our 
Father, we thank You for this, Your Word, and we pray for the 
ministry of Your Spirit now. We pray that He would guide us 
and lead us into all truth. We do desire, we do need, Father, 
the aid of the Spirit, for our minds and our hearts are darkened, 
our understanding is twisted. We pray that You would just forgive 
us for all of our sins and transgressions, that influence that darkens our 
mind, and we pray that you would wash us afresh in the blood of 
the Lord Jesus Christ, and that you would cause your light to 
shine upon our minds and our hearts, and may we truly rejoice 
in the things of Christ this morning. God, for those who've 
come here this morning outside of Christ, those who have not 
believed the gospel, we pray that today would be the day of 
salvation, that they would, as Jesus instructs in this passage, 
give ear and listen to the word of the living God. We just thank 
you now and we praise you through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. Well this particular chapter 
up to verse 53 contains many parables of our Lord Jesus Christ. I want to give just a bit of 
a structure to the overall chapter. and then we'll look, as I said 
this morning, at two broad concerns. First, the parable of the sower 
stated in verses 1 to 9, and then the purpose of parables 
given in verses 10 to 17. Now the tendency is to go through 
the statement of the parable, and then using verses 18 to 23, 
illustrate or highlight the meaning of it. That's certainly a homiletical 
tendency. But there is a reason why Matthew 
structures the narrative this way. So does Mark and so does 
Luke. You'll see as we move along through 
the exposition the truth of what Jesus says concerning parables 
in verses 10 to 17 makes its way into the discourse itself. 
In other words, parables are given for a two-fold purpose. 
One, to reveal kingdom mysteries to the converted and to hide 
kingdom mysteries from the unconverted. It is to the converted, it is 
to the disciples that Jesus then gives explanation in verses 18 
to 23 concerning the parable of the sower. But as I said, 
the entire chapter is filled with parables. There's probably 
eight If we take verse 52 as a parable, then there's eight 
in total. And the structure is pretty easy 
to identify. The first parable, the parable 
of the sower, is introductory and foundational to all that 
follows. And if verse 52 is in fact a 
parable, it does serve as a fitting conclusion to this particular 
discourse. And then in between we have three 
parables separated by a statement about parables, an explanation 
of parables, and then three more parables. So it is put together 
in a very structured manner through our Lord Jesus, of course, and 
then Matthew, the evangelist, as he records these things for 
us. So as I said this morning, we're going to take up the parable 
of the sower, commonly called the parable of the soils, because 
the primary emphasis in the passage is on the soils, the different 
types of ways that people receive the word. However, Jesus himself 
identifies it as the parable of the sower, so we will stick 
with that particular title instead of trying to be cute, and novel, 
and change it to fit our particular desires. Now notice first the 
parable of the sower stated. We need to understand the setting. 
The setting. Verses 1 and 2. On the same day 
Jesus went out of the house and sat by the sea. According to 
chapter 12, 46. and 47 Christ was in the house. 
That's when his mother and his brothers came to talk to him. 
They're on the outside and Jesus identifies those with him on 
the inside as his mother, as his brothers. Those who do the 
will of God are in fact the family of our Lord Jesus Christ. So 
he departs the house He goes and He sits by the sea. We read 
in verse 2, great multitudes were gathered together to Him. 
Now we need to appreciate this as we move through these parables. 
We have two specific audiences. We have disciples, those who 
are the family of God. And we have the multitudes, those 
who are unconverted, those who are outside the family of God. 
So it says they gathered together to Him so that He got into a 
boat and sat. And the whole multitude stood 
on the shore. So you envision the picture here. Jesus is now sitting on a boat. 
The disciples are more than likely with Him, the twelve, on the 
boat. And then this great multitude is on the shore. So taking the 
boat as His pulpit, the Lord Jesus then engages in parabolic 
teaching. When he sits down, we see that 
already in chapter 5 at verses 1 and 2, we'll see it again at 
the Olivet Discourse in chapter 24-3. This was the official rabbinic 
posture for authoritative teaching. When the rabbi sat, he was to 
be listened to. Not that you don't listen to 
him when he's standing and walking and talking. but certainly when 
he assumes the posture of sitting, you need to pay attention to 
what he has to say. Spurgeon made the very interesting 
comment, the teacher sat and the people stood. He says, we 
should have less sleeping in congregations if this arrangement 
still prevailed. I think that's a very perceptive 
remark by our dear brother Charles Adams Spurgeon. So perhaps I 
ought to sit and everybody stand up and then we'll have less sweeping 
prevailing in our congregations. The Lord Christ is to be taken 
seriously. The stuff He speaks of in these 
parables concern the kingdom of heaven itself. And that brings 
us to consider this discourse. It says, then He spoke many things 
to them in parables. Now of the four Gospels, specifically 
the three synoptic Gospels, Matthew, Mark, and Luke, Matthew contains 
five discourses of our Lord Jesus Christ. Five sections of prolonged 
teaching by the Lord. Chapters 5 to 7, the Sermon on 
the Mount. Chapter 10, the Missionary Discourse. Here in chapter 13, the parables, 
again later in chapter 18, and then in chapter 24 with the Olivet 
Discourse. So we have these large blocks 
of teaching by our Lord that Matthew highlights for us. The 
nature of the discourse is specified here in verse 3. Then he spoke 
many things to them in parables. Parables. Parabolic teaching. What does that mean? Just want 
to quote a commentator. Parable builds on the Hebrew 
Masal and can refer to stories, illustrations, similitudes, proverbs, 
or even riddles. Remember Samson liked to tell 
riddles. We could call those parables. 
He says the basic meaning of the term is comparison. So it 
is a literary device drawing an analogy or comparison from 
everyday experience to deepen one's understanding of a concept. Now some speculate that as Jesus 
sits down in this boat and the great multitudes gather together 
to hear him, he sees a man in the distance sowing his field. 
Now whether that's the case or not, We simply do not know. But 
it's certainly an occurrence that would happen there in Galilee. 
Men would take seed and they'd throw it into their field. There's 
an analogy there. There's a comparison there. There's 
something that we can sink our intellectual teeth into and we 
can learn from. Jesus uses these comparisons 
to teach specifically concerning the nature of the Kingdom of 
Heaven. That is the subject matter of 
this discourse. Kingdom of Heaven comes out in 
verses 11, 24, 31, 33 44, 45, 47, and 52. What's Jesus trying to 
express to us? The Kingdom of Heaven! He's teaching 
us certain truths about the in-breaking of God's Kingdom via His Son, 
the Lord Jesus Christ. And the connection ought to be 
obvious. If you've been paying attention 
in the last several weeks, we have seen in chapters 11 and 
12 varying responses to the Lord Jesus. and the emphasis has fallen 
upon rising opposition to the Lord Jesus, and so here in this 
parabolic discourse, it gives explanation why such things are 
the case. Why is it that men reject the 
Kingdom of Heaven? Why is it that men reject the 
King of Heaven Himself? Why is it that there are these 
people that are plotting against the Lord Jesus Christ, seeking 
to destroy Him? Osborne says the parables develop 
the implications of the kingdom's arrival. They develop the ideas 
about kingdom conflict, judgment, and decision, reflecting the 
implications of the preceding material, especially the controversy 
over Jesus. There's rhyme and reason in this 
gospel. Chapters 11 and 12 highlight 
the varying responses to Jesus. Chapter 13 explains it for us. And as France points out, all 
this is designed to help the disciples and through them, of 
course, Matthew's readers, us, to be less naive in their expectations. To strengthen them to continue 
as heralds of God's kingship even in the face of disappointment 
and opposition. In other words, the parables 
serve to show the disciples that there is going to be opposition. 
There is going to be trial. There is going to be difficulty. 
People won't just bow down and receive the Lord Jesus Christ. 
The parables compare the various things that Jesus says with reference 
to the kingdom of heaven and its growth, its prosperity, its 
advancement, and its final consummation at the end of the age. a bit 
of an extended introduction it is important for us to know what's 
going on in the chapter. Now notice secondly the specifics 
of the parable. Verses 3 to 9. The sower, I said we're not gonna 
steal from or we're not gonna borrow from the explanation in 
verses 18 to 23 but we will just a little bit. The sower is Jesus 
Christ. The sower is the Lord Jesus Christ. It's identified, or he's identified 
specifically in chapter 13 and verse 37 that way. He answered 
and said to them, he who sows the good seed is the son of man. 
Now that is in a different parable, but I think it applies here. 
It is the Lord of glory, the messianic king himself, coming 
in his person and work, sowing the seed of the kingdom. Now 
obviously there is application to faithful preachers of the 
gospel. In other words, when ministers 
go forth and preach the truth of the gospel, as Jesus says 
in that missionary discourse in Matthew 10, 40, He who receives 
you, receives me. He who rejects you, rejects me. So of course, as men faithfully 
herald the truth of God's kingdom, we see them sowing seeds. Whenever 
we gather here in the morning, The man that comes up to preach 
in a very real way is pulling seeds out of his pocket and he's 
throwing them down into the ground. And the various types of soil 
either A. receive that seed or B. reject 
that seed. So the sower is Christ himself. Specifically, the seed is the 
Word of the Kingdom. We see that in verse 19. When 
anyone hears the Word of the Kingdom, in verse 23, he hears 
the Word and understands it. It's not hard to see what's going 
on in this particular passage. Jesus, as He's using this sower, 
who goes out and casts His seed into the ground, He says there 
are varying ways that men respond. just like there's varying responses 
to him in chapters 11 and 12. Now notice first he speaks of 
the seed by the wayside. The wayside is probably the footpath 
cut through a particular field. When a man would go out to sow 
seed in his field, obviously he tries to keep it in the field, 
but certainly as he throws a handful, or however he disseminated the 
seed, some would fall on the footpath, and it would meet there 
with a hardened piece of ground. It would not be ground receptive 
to the seed itself, because it's been walked on, it's been stomped 
on, it has been traversed on, therefore that ground is hardened. It's the first type of soil, 
Jesus says, there is. Hardened soil. The second type 
of soil is shallow soil. Notice what he says in verse 
5. He says, Some fell on stony places, 
where they did not have much earth, and they immediately sprang 
up, because they had no depth of earth. But when the sun was 
up, they were scorched, and because they had no root, they withered 
away. So that second type is very shallow. Immediately the 
seed gives birth and it comes through, but because there's 
no depth, because there's not enough earth, as soon as the 
sunshine beams upon it, it's scorched. It weathers away. It 
has no root structure. It has no strength. It has no 
ability to bear up under the trials and the difficulties that 
this world has to offer. And again, we'll explain this 
in more concrete terms, God willing, next week. But I think you get 
the point. Jesus is telling us, Jesus is 
telling you, there are certain ways to receive the Word this 
morning. Are you hardened? Is it the case that when the 
Word of God comes, when the seed falls upon that footpath, it 
bounces off, or it doesn't penetrate, and therefore the birds of the 
air, those hungry, vicious birds of the air will come down and 
snatch up that seed, lest you hear the Word, lest you believe 
the Word, and lest you be saved by the Word? It's interesting 
to notice as well, in each of the cases here, these four types 
of soil, they're not what we would call the abject God-hater. Even the wayside is present where 
the seed is sown. Even the wayside makes contact 
with the seed. What Christ is describing in 
this parable befits the covenant community. It's not the heathen 
and the pagan that wants nothing to do with us. It's not the God-hating 
rebel that's holding his sign promoting atheism that wants 
nothing to do with Christ and His Word. It is those who come 
into contact with the seed. It is those who come into contact 
with the Word of God. It is those in a room like this, 
on a day like this. Are you hardened? Have you despised? Have you rejected? Have you already 
turned off your mind coming into this place? I'm not going to 
listen to this guy. I got an hour to kill until I get to get 
home and do what I really want to do. That's a hardened disposition. That's a heart that is resistant 
to the truth of God's Word. I'll show up. I'll go through 
the motions. I will look like I'm receptive. 
I'm not going to stand up in the midst of the sermon and say, 
would somebody shut this man up? Would somebody stop this 
sort of rambling? I'm not going to do that. I'm 
going to look polished. I'm going to look like I'm courteous. I'm going to look like I actually 
want to be here. But as that seed is sown, is 
it falling right now? As I say these very things, falling 
on hard soil. Sort of just bouncing off, not 
penetrating, not going in for a moment. Or is it that seed 
that's in shallow ground? There seems to be an appearance 
of reception. There seems to be growth initially. There seems to be a desire to 
sing all the way, my Savior leads me. But if truth be told, because 
of the fact that you're in this shallow ground and there's no 
root structure and there's nothing to support the growth itself, 
you're dead while you look alive. I mean, before you see the scorching 
sun take care of that little plant, it looks like life, doesn't 
it? It looks as if there is growth there. Again, Christ is not teaching 
about heathen and pagans and tax collectors and sinners out 
there. He's talking about those who 
in some form or fashion, and here the great multitudes themselves, 
coming into contact with the sower and with the seed of the 
kingdom. He speaks of a third type of 
soil. We'll call this crowded soil. These, by the way, are 
Chamblin. Notch Chamblin, in his very helpful 
commentary on Matthew, speaks of the soils this way. Hardened 
soil, shallow soil, crowded soil, and fruitful soil. What's the 
crowded soil? The seed takes root, the seed 
starts to sprout, But the seed is crowded by thorns. You see, 
the thorns are stronger. The thorns are more competitive. 
The thorns are more versatile. The thorns are more durable. 
The thorns are stretching out their thorn faces to get all 
the sunshine and to take all the water in their root structure. 
Later on, the Lord Christ will tell us that whether it be prosperity 
or problem, this is the sorts of thorns that choke out the 
reception of the Word of God. This kind of person is evident 
in the church as well. Again, there appears to be growth. 
There appears to be the maturation of the plant. There appears to 
be some sort of growth whatsoever, but they're crowded. They're 
being choked out. They aren't giving themselves 
wholly to the Lord. Matthew 6.33 is on their fridge. It's not in their heart. Seek 
first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these 
things will be added unto you." That is a much better maxim, 
a much better statement, a much preferred thing to have in your 
heart rather than your fridge. But see, this type of hearer 
isn't like that. This type of hearer allows herself 
to be crowded. We ought to be rooting out these 
thorns. We ought to be destroying those 
things that hurt our spiritual life. We ought to take seriously 
the injunction in 2 Peter 3.18 that we are to grow in the grace 
and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. How 
many of us as Christians allow ourselves to be choked? How many 
of us as Christians allow those thorns to rise up in our hearts, 
vying for attention, and for whatever reason, sin is the only 
thing that we can blame, we give them attention. You see, for 
the Christian, if religion means anything, religion means everything. For the Christian, either Jesus 
is altogether lovely and chief among 10,000, or He's not. Remember our Lord Christ's teaching 
in Matthew 12, 30. He who is not with me is against 
me. Whether you be hardened, whether 
you be shallow, or whether you be thorny, if you are not wholly 
given to the Lord of glory, you're not His. That's His point. In essence, though he speaks 
of four soils, there's only really two. There's the unbeliever and 
there's the believer. And notice how he describes the 
believer in verse 8. But others fell on good ground 
and yielded a crop, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. If you 
read Mark's gospel, you'll see that Matthew has reversed the 
order, or Mark has reversed the order, depending on who you believe 
wrote first. I actually believe Matthew wrote 
first. That's pretty much the minority 
opinion, but I think there's good reasons for that. But Mark 
says 30, 60, 100. Matthew says 100, 60, 30. What's 
the significance there? I don't know. But it does indicate 
this, that Christians, godly people, those who receive the 
Word, among that mass of Christian humanity, you've got some Pauls, 
you've got some Spurgeons, you've got some Calvins, and then you've 
got the rest of us. Some do bear a hundredfold, some 
do bear sixty, and some do bear thirty. The point is not that 
God loves the hundredfold bearers a lot more than He loves the 
thirtyfold. The point is that when that seed falls on the good 
ground, there is productivity. There is fruit bearing. There 
is godliness. There is the pursuit of holiness. 
There are good deeds done for the glory of Christ and for the 
good of men. That's the point in Jesus' parable. You cannot profess to be a saved 
man or woman without fruit. You cannot convince any jury 
that you're a Christian without fruit. We're saved by grace alone, 
through faith alone, in Christ alone, in order to do good works, 
which God has prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them. 
It's interesting, for Matthew, he chooses the term understand 
as synonymous with faith. I quite like that, because I 
believe that faith, belief, trust in the gospel means that by the 
grace of God we understand His truth, we perceive it to be the 
case, and by His grace we throw ourselves upon the mercy of our 
Lord Jesus Christ. But when we do that, when we 
understand the truth, when we are justified freely by His grace, 
the thought of an unsanctified Christian is foreign and contrary 
to the parable of the sower. In other words, the family of 
Christ follows their master. The family of Christ sings 505 
and quite enjoys it, all the way my Savior leads. The family 
of Christ is seen in Revelation 14. They follow the Lamb wherever 
He goes. So you see these types of hearers 
more than likely are present in this sermon today. Now oftentimes 
we take it as a 25-25-25-25, but the text doesn't say that. It's simply wrong to say every 
fourth hearer will be a Christian. Every fourth hearer will be hardened. 
Every fourth person will have thorns. We simply can't say that. 
We don't know if it's an 85-555. We don't know if it's a 555-85. We don't know! The point is that as the word 
is preached, as Christ sows the seed, whether in first century 
Israel in his person and work, or through preachers ordained 
to proclaim the verities of gospel truth, you will not be unchanged. In other words, when you hear 
the truth, change is inevitable. You grow more hardened, You grow 
more stiffened against the Lord of glory. You allow those thorns 
to choke you out even more so than when you first came. That's 
the parable of the sower. That's the simple teaching that 
Jesus gives in verses 1 to 8. Notice how he exhorts in verse 
9. He who has ears to hear, let him hear. You know what Jesus 
is saying here? Pay attention. Wake up. This is equivalent to my suggesting 
at times when your eyes are heavy and you're getting a bit drowsy 
to grab the inside of your thigh and give it a good squeeze. Pay 
attention. There are going to be people 
today glued to the Super Bowl. I think that's today. Glued. Next week? Next week people are 
going to be glued to that television. Glued! They're planning their 
parties already. Glued to a football game. And we have trouble for an hour 
paying attention to the seed of the Kingdom of Heaven. This 
is what Christ says to you this morning. If you are drowsy, if 
you are having a tough time, listen to the Savior. He who 
has ears to hear, let him hear. Wake up! Pay attention, because 
the things that we're trafficking in far exceed anything that this 
world has to offer. That men are more religiously 
committed to their football is an indictment against the Church 
of Christ, when at times people of God can't stay awake for an 
hour-long sermon. I mean, in some places an hour 
long sermon, don't you know you need to preach 15 minutes or 
20 minutes? I call those sermonettes for 
Christianettes. Pull down Goodwin. Pull down 
Owen. These brothers preached for two 
hours. We're giants in the land in those days. Why is that the 
case? Because it's important. You are 
in verses 1 to 8. You're not outside somewhere 
protesting Christianity. You're not outside somewhere 
advocating atheism. You have come into a place where 
seed is being sown. You are either A. hardened, B. shallow, C. thorny, or D. good. And it's the kingdom of heaven 
that's in view. That's why it's important. Now 
notice secondly the purpose of parables given in verses 10 to 
17. The disciples asked the question, 
and the disciples came and said to him, why do you speak to them 
in parables? It's a good question, isn't it? 
Jesus assumes his posture, rabbinic style, sitting in this boat. 
This is his pulpit. The crowd is gathered on the 
seashore, and Jesus speaks to them in a parable. The disciples 
said, why do you do that? What's the deal? Let us in. Teach 
us. Instruct us. Help us to understand 
what it is you're doing, Lord Jesus Christ. And Christ then 
answers them. And he speaks specifically three 
things. And this is where we're going 
to spend some time. First, the two-fold purpose behind parabolic 
teaching. There is a two-fold purpose behind 
parabolic teaching. This is found in verse 11. He 
says, because it has been given to you to know the mysteries 
of the kingdom of heaven. Now, we need to make sure we 
understand. Verse 8, Jesus described good soil. We learn in verse 
11 that we're not to congratulate the soil. We're not to praise 
the soil. We're not to say great dirt, 
awesome dirt. You're better than all dirt that's 
ever been. The soil is good. The soil was 
prepared. The soil is receptive because 
of our great God. Do you see that? Verse 11. Why 
do you speak in parables, Lord? The first reason is the revelation 
of the mysteries of the kingdom to the people of God. To you 
it has been given. This is a passive verb. That 
means you didn't wake up one day and say, wow, I'm going to 
decide for Jesus. This means that you didn't wake 
up one day and flip on your spiritual light bulb and say, I'm going 
to be a Christian now. No, to you it has been given. 
This is consistent with what we've seen in Matthew 11, 25 
to 30. What does Jesus praise the Father 
for in that particular section of Holy Scripture? You have hidden 
these things from the wise and prudent, but you have revealed 
them to babes. Later on in Matthew's Gospel, 
Peter is going to say, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living 
God. And you know what Jesus does not do? He does not praise 
Peter. He does not say, Good on you, 
Peter. Wise on you, Peter. I'm going to give you an award, 
Peter. He says, Blessed are you, Simon Barjona, for flesh and 
blood did not reveal this to you, but my Father in heaven. 
Why parables? To teach disciples the mysteries 
of the kingdom of heaven. That's why. To instruct his people, 
to educate those followers, to teach them more concerning the 
in-breaking Kingdom of Heaven in this world through the person 
and the work of the Lord Jesus Christ. Certainly the Jews, this 
particular audience, understood something about the Kingdom of 
God. They understood it vis-à-vis Daniel's prophecy that there's 
going to be this great apocalyptic kingdom when all the nations 
of the earth would submit to our God. They miss this reality 
that through the person and the work of the Lord Jesus Christ, 
the Kingdom has come. Remember how Jesus embarks on 
His public ministry in Matthew 4, 17? He says, repent. Why? For the Kingdom of Heaven 
is at hand. Remember His teaching in Matthew 
chapter 12. He speaks about Himself being the strong man who binds 
the strong man by His own power and His glory. Christ is telling 
his disciples that blessed are you because you see these things. And notice, there's a two-fold 
purpose involved. Actually, let me just read this 
Calvin quote. Christ, by declaring it was given to them, excludes 
all merit. Don't come to a verse 8 good 
seed and say, wow, there's something intrinsically good about that 
person. No, it's the good God who cultivated 
the soil. It's the good God who planted 
the seed. It's the good God who gave it increase. That's who 
is to be praised. This is similar to what John 
the Apostle does in John 1, 12 and 13. He explains it, that 
men who come to God, men who come through Christ, come because 
of God's power. This is similar to what Paul 
does in Romans 9-11. After opening up the universal 
depravity of man, the necessity of justification by faith alone, 
the doctrine of federal theology with Adam and Christ, when Paul 
gets to deal with the power behind all this, where does he go? Sovereignty. Predestination. Election. That's what Jesus is doing here. 
There are some people that this passage might offend. If you're 
one of them, please sit still until we finish. Look at what 
Christ says. Behold, or because it has been 
given to you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven. But 
I mentioned there's a twofold purpose. We don't often give 
thought to this secondary purpose. But to them it has not been given. But to them it has not been given. 
Just like Matthew 11, 25, I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and 
earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and the 
prudent. Commenting on that passage, we observed that men think this 
is unfair. Men say, well, that's not nice, 
that's not right, that's not good, that's not judicious for 
God the Lord to hide gospel truth from some sinners. It's an act 
of justice for God the Lord to hide gospel truth from some sinners. As I've wrestled with this particular 
passage over the week, as I've considered some of the questions 
that arise as a result, I think that some of our objections to 
passages like these stem from the problem that Jesus is identifying. 
We want God to be like us. Isn't that man's fundamental 
problem? I want God to be like me. I don't want him to be God 
unless that means give, give, give. You meet Christians like 
this that really struggle with the sovereignty of God, with 
predestination, with election. God is infinite, eternal, and 
unchangeable. It is being, wisdom, power, holiness, 
justice, goodness, and truth. When we understand who God is, 
when we understand His attributes, or His perfections, or how the 
Bible describes Him, we have to conclude that He does all 
things well. Remember that Asaphian musing 
in Psalm 73, where he highlights the reality, but as for me, my 
foot nearly slipped, how does he start that psalm? God is good 
to Israel. This much I know, this much I've 
learned, this much I've appropriated by God's grace. As for me though, 
my foot nearly slipped, till I started to look at things from 
God's perspective." You see, that's your problem if we move 
through this passage and you buck at the sovereignty of God. 
Because you're looking at it like a sinner. You're appropriating 
it in an undone state. You need to realize who God is. It's not we that shape Him to 
perform for us, it's He that made this world and everything 
in it. It's He that governs all His 
creatures and all their actions according to His most holy, wise, 
and powerful plan. The Lord Christ tells us that 
in parabolic teaching there is a two-fold purpose. One, to reveal 
gospel mysteries to the disciples, and two, to hide gospel mysteries 
from non-disciples. Notice he amplifies this in verse 
12. For whoever has, to him more will be given, and he will have 
an abundance. But whoever does not have, even 
what he has will be taken away from him." Calvin says that Christ 
pursues this subject, for he reminds his disciples how kindly 
God acts towards them. You know, some of the loudest 
rambling against predestination and election that I've met with 
is the Christian. I think if you take an atheist 
and you say, well, if the Bible is the way God explains him, 
he won't agree, he won't bow down in submission, but he'll 
say, yeah, I see that. It's church people that have 
such a difficulty with the Godhood of God. We don't like Romans 
11, 36, really. We don't want it to be, for of 
him, and through him, and to him are all things, to whom be 
glory forever, amen. We like ourselves in there. Or 
like those disciples who said, Lord, when you come into your 
kingdom, make sure we're sitting on your right and left hand. Why does a believer, why does 
one who is good soiled by the grace of God buck at predestination 
and sovereignty? We ought to delight in it. We 
ought to praise God for it. We ought to assume Paul's posture 
in Ephesians 1, 3 and following. Blessed be the God and Father 
of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual 
blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, just as He chose us 
in Him before the foundation of the world, in love having 
predestined us to adoption as sons. in whom we have redemption 
through His blood. The Spirit seals and guarantees 
His people. Why is it the case that when 
God does that for people, we balk and we resist and we complain 
about His Godhood? If there were no Godhood, we'd 
be damned. If there were no predestination 
or election, we'd be dead in our trespasses and sins. There's 
no sinner choosing for Jesus. There's no sinner raising himself 
from the dead. There's no sinner saying, I have 
decided to follow my Lord. No, there's a sovereign God with 
whom all things are possible who takes that seed of the kingdom 
and he plants it in the soul and he causes that man or woman 
to be born again and to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ so that 
he may be saved. Jesus says, to those who have 
been given, they'll get more. This is a benefit of kingdom 
life. But to those who are outside, even what they have will be stripped 
away from them. Because they don't capitalize 
on it. They don't use it. They don't care about it. They 
disdain it and despise it. Calvin says, Christ pursues this 
subject, for he reminds his disciples how kindly God acts towards them. Did you ever notice that? Maybe 
you haven't talked to these people. He's talking about the glory 
of God and predestination of life. Well, that's not fair. 
Are you saved? Yeah. Well, then praise Him. We don't like the Godhood of 
God. We don't like that He makes the 
decisions and that He makes the calls and that He has ordained 
all things whatsoever comes to pass. We want us to be in the 
reign or have the reigns with Him. We want to think that we're 
His co-pilot. We're not His co-pilot. We're 
not His counselor. We're not His consultant. We 
don't tell Him what to do. We don't tell Him how to do it. 
Our God in Psalm is good, but He's not necessarily tame. I find it frustrating trying 
to argue with people or talk to people who have the common 
conception of a nice God. We read about holy war in Canaan 
and we say, well that's not consistent with a nice God. Where in Genesis 
to Revelation does the Bible say God's a nice God? God's a 
good God? God's a holy God? God's a wise 
God? God's a just God and takes Israel 
and he sends them in to slay Canaanites. We don't like that, 
do we? It bothers us. May I suggest 
that if you are a kingdom citizen, you ought to praise more and 
complain less. Calvin says, Christ pursues this 
subject for he reminds his disciples how kindly God acts towards them, 
that they may more highly prize his grace and may acknowledge 
themselves to be under deeper obligations to his kindness. 
There is a heavy emphasis in this entire section on predestination 
and election. I like what Machen says. Machen 
says that predestination writes God entirely too large and man 
entirely too small to suit our human pride. You say, well what's 
the judiciousness of preaching such a thing in a context where 
there might be people that disagree with predestination? So that 
God will humble us. Isn't this the Apostle's point 
in Romans 9? Paul says, I want to say some things, but I don't 
want to offend your delicate sensitivities, because I know, 
after all, you're so soft. If God is sovereign, the objector 
states to the Apostle in Romans 9, then why does he still find 
fault with us? Seems like a good question, doesn't 
it? If God is sovereign, as you paint him out to be, Why does 
he hold me culpable for sinning against him? What's Paul's answer? Well, let's engage in some philosophical 
thought. No. He essentially tells the 
objector to shut his mouth. That's the Jim Butler version. 
I think it gives an accurate assessment, though, or an accurate 
translation of what Paul does say. Who are you, oh man, to 
question God? Who's given you that right? Who's 
given you that authority? Thankfully, we live in nations 
that at least subscribe to the idea of freedom of speech. Theologically, there isn't freedom 
of speech, though. We don't get to call God into 
question. We don't get to say, I don't like what you do and 
I don't like how you do it. Paul says, who are you to question 
God? Shall the pot look up from its 
place on the table and say to the pot, why hast thou made me 
this way? What would you do if your pot 
said that? You'd probably knock it right off the table. The fact 
that God hasn't knocked us all right off the table shows His 
patience, His mercy, His kindness, His benevolence, His goodness. 
There is a heavy emphasis in this section on predestination 
and the sovereignty of God, because it has been given to you to know 
the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has 
not been given. 4. Whoever has, to him more will 
be given, and he will have abundance, but whoever does not have, even 
what he has will be taken away from him. Now notice the reason 
specified in verses 13 to 17. The Lord speaks in parables because 
of their rebellion. Verse 13, therefore I speak to 
them in parables because seeing they do not see and hearing they 
do not hear, nor do they understand. Now some speculate that Matthew 
softened Mark. I think it'd be hard to sustain 
that argument in light of 11.25-30 and in light of verse 11. Mark tells us in Mark 4, 12, 
he speaks in parables in order to harden them. Here, the response is, Jesus 
speaks to them in parables because they are hardened. Now, both 
truths are obviously taught, and both evangelists appeal to 
the prophet Isaiah. And it's very intriguing that 
the apostles here cite Isaiah 6, 9 to 10, which is a context 
very similar in nature to what Jesus is dealing with. Remember 
back in chapter 12, verse 39. He says an evil and adulterous 
generation seeks after a sign. He speaks in verse 45 of this 
wicked generation. We will see that language growing 
as we move on in our exposition. What did Isaiah do? What did 
Pastor Kim just read? In the year that King Uzziah 
died, I saw the Lord high, lofty, exalted. The train of His robe 
filled the temple. It was bad that Uzziah died, 
but it was good that I saw the Lord God Almighty. He's commissioned 
to the prophetic ministry. He's told to go to these particular 
people. And it's quite interesting that 
Matthew and Mark both have Jesus citing the Septuagint, which 
in many respects does soften the language of Isaiah 6, 9, 
and 10. The purpose of the prophet Isaiah 
was to go and to make hearts heavy. to shut eyes, to make 
their ears stopped. Isaiah's ministry was one of 
blessing to the people, the remnant who believe, but cursing to the 
rejecters and despisers. Isaiah is dealing with a generation 
of idolaters and unbelievers. And so God dispatches Isaiah. Often thought about this in Isaiah 
6, 9 and 10. The prophet is called and he 
is told, when you go out and preach, here is going to be the 
byproduct. Their ears are going to be stopped, 
their eyes are going to be shut, and their hearts are going to 
be more hardened. And it's going to be because of your ministry. Imagine Isaiah at a church growth 
meeting. Imagine Isaiah hearing people 
say, well, you know, if we promise a money-back tithe guarantee, 
If we promise to give people the cleanest nursery care ever, 
if we promise to have the most vibrant and exciting music ministry, 
our churches will grow. Isaiah, what have you learned? 
Well, God sent me to a hard and obstinate people and he used 
me as a scourge against them. That was Isaiah's ministry. This 
is what Jesus is citing. It's an interesting verb choice 
that Jesus uses too because it certainly happened in Isaiah's 
day that the people were hardened until such time as Babylon came 
in and utterly decimated the city of Jerusalem. When Babylon 
utterly decimated the temple, but after the exile there was 
hope, there was rebuilding, there were the prophets Haggai, Zechariah, 
Malachi. The Lord Jesus says such things 
are happening now. as Christ has come to His generation, 
as Christ has come to these people, as Christ has preached and they've 
rejected and despised the kingdom, it's not just one of the facts 
of life that certain people receive the Word and others don't, it 
is the purpose of God Himself that this is the case. what he 
says in Isaiah that's what he says in verse 14 and in them 
the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled which says hearing you will hear 
and shall not understand and seeing you will see and not hear 
or perceive again the Septuagint that's the Greek translation 
of the Old Testament Scriptures have it as a passive in a passive 
sense verse 15 for the hearts of this people have grown dull 
Their ears are hard of hearing, and their eyes have closed." 
That's a reality. That's a truth. The Masoretic 
text that Pastor Cam read today says, "...make the hearts of 
this people dull, and their ears heavy, and shut their eyes, lest 
they see with their eyes and hear with their ears, and understand 
with their heart, and return and be healed." Now, here's the 
rub. Here's the point. Here's the 
issue. Here's where it gets practical. 
As I said, borrowing from RT Friends, it's not just the facts 
of life that there are three types of soil that refuse and 
one type of soil that receives. It is God's purpose that such 
is the case. You say, what possible remedial 
effect does that have on an unbeliever? Hopefully to humble him. hopefully 
to show him his dependence upon mercy, hopefully to show him 
that tomorrow may not come, hopefully to show him that he doesn't have 
the power in his hand to affect this salvation, but it's the 
God of heaven and earth that alone affects this salvation. 
And notice that in the midst of this high, what we'll call 
Calvinism, in the midst of this predestinarian theme, in the 
midst of this stress upon election and the purposes of God, verse 
9. He who has an ear to hear, let 
him hear. The fact that Jesus stands before 
these multitudes, or rather sits before these standing multitudes 
and teaches them the truth presupposes or assumes the reality that those 
entrenched in the kingdom of darkness can be brought out of 
that into the kingdom of the Son of God's love. The very purposes 
of God are realized through faithful preaching of His truth. Our confession 
says the doctrine of predestination needs to be handled with care 
and prudence. It needs to be handled. We need 
to preach it. Sinners need to know that they 
are not the end of the universe. Sinners need to know they are 
dependent upon others. And if you are here this morning 
and you have rejected the Lord of Glory, instead of getting 
mad at the Godhood of God, submit to the Godhood of God. Instead 
of getting angry at His purposes and grace, say, Lord Jesus, have 
mercy upon me, I'm a sinner. Instead of balking, rejecting, 
despising, and forsaking, and saying, well, that's just not 
fair. As if the pot has the right to tell the potter what is and 
what isn't fair. Instead of taking that posture 
and disposition, submit. Believe. Look to Christ. And guess what'll happen? It'll 
all make sense. "'Tis not that I did choose thee 
for Lord, that could not be! This heart would still refuse 
thee, had thou not'st chosen me." Romans 9.16 makes sense, 
for it does not depend upon him who wills or him who runs, but 
God who shows mercy. You see, it's not about me, it's 
about God the Lord and His dear Son, Jesus Christ, in saving 
sinners. So this doctrine of predestination 
and election that Jesus tells His disciples is a reality is 
not meant to inhibit anybody, but hopefully to humble everybody 
so that we will submit to the Godhood of God. For the hearts 
of this people have grown dulled, their ears are hard of hearing, 
their eyes they have closed, lest they should see with their 
eyes and hear with their ears, lest they should understand with 
their hearts and turn, so that I should heal them." Isaiah 6, 
9 and 10. And then notice, he pronounces 
a beatitude upon his disciples. Verse 16, But blessed are your 
eyes, for they see, and your ears, for they hear. For assuredly 
I say to you that many prophets and righteous men desired to 
see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you 
hear, and did not hear it. This is a great piece of encouragement 
for His disciples. Again, R.T. Frentz says, the 
prophets look forward to the day of eschatological restoration, 
to the coming of what Jesus now calls the Kingdom of Heaven. 
But they saw it only in prefiguration and promise, not in existential 
reality. What's John saying, John 1, 14, 
the Word became flesh, and we beheld His glory, the glory as 
of the only begotten, full of grace and truth. What does Peter 
tell us in 1 Peter 1, verses 10-12? The prophets carefully 
searched, the prophets carefully inquired, the prophets knew they 
were writing about the champion of Israel, but it wasn't fleshed 
out to them before their eyes like it has been for us. Jesus 
says to them, I am everything those men wrote of. Jesus is 
saying, I'm the messianic king, I bring the secrets of the kingdom, 
I make known these truths, I reveal them unto babes, and I hide them 
from those wise and prudent, those self-sufficient ones that 
think they're right in their own eyes. powerful statement 
that Jesus says Christologically, for assuredly I say to you that 
many prophets and righteous men desire to see what you see. What's 
Jesus say to the Jews in John 8 when he refers to Abraham? 
Abraham rejoiced to see what? My day. Could you imagine saying 
that to a Jew in the first century? Could you imagine telling somebody 
that I am what Abraham looked forward to? Is it any surprise 
that they picked up stones to throw them at him? This man makes 
himself out to be God. That's the point that Jesus highlights 
here with reference to the mysteries of the kingdom. Boy, the time 
just goes quick on these Sunday morning times. What are some 
final thoughts? First, it's important that we 
see the importance of sewing. Some of you are far more familiar 
with farm life than I am, but this much I know. The farmer 
has a whole host of tasks, doesn't he? I don't know that it's the 
case. I don't suspect that it is that 
he hires a sower. Look what Jesus speaks of. The 
parable of the sower. Not the farmer. Farmers fix tractors. They get cows to wherever they 
need to be. They milk cows. They feed cows. They deal with all the things 
that a farmer does. One aspect of the farmer's life 
is sowing. Right? Now they don't go out 
with a pouch and a handful of seeds and sort of do like this 
today. They have it a lot more technologically 
advanced. He talks about the sower. What's 
the point? The word is crucial. Truth is 
crucial. The inauguration The advancement 
and the consummation of the Kingdom of Heaven all depends upon, obviously, 
the sovereignty of God, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, 
each engaged in their particular function in the economy of redemption, 
to be sure, but the vehicle by which they promote the inauguration, 
the advancement, and the consummation of God's eternal Kingdom is the 
Word of Truth, a sower went out to sow. The emphasis upon the 
word of Christ in the parable and in the section as a whole 
dictates to us as the church that our emphasis must be likewise. We must be a people of the book. 
We must be a people of the truth. We must put a premium on the 
word of the living God. One commentator says that issue-centered 
Christianity is the bane of modern mainline Christendom. Now I think 
in a faithful expository pulpit approach to life and ministry, 
in a preaching of the whole counsel of God, you deal with issues 
along the way. You certainly do. But when we 
abandon the central message of the kingdom of heaven for issues, 
this man says this is the bane of modern Christendom. The church 
is to be known for preaching the word of truth. Yes, we should 
love people. Yes, we should care about people. 
Yes, we should tend to needs. I'm not suggesting otherwise. This is illogical. If I say we 
ought to be about the preaching of the Word, the converse is 
not that we should go hate people. I don't know how we function 
most of the times. I was telling Brother Kim, it's 
a good thing that the Christological controversies were hammered out 
in the 5th century because we're not able. The church is to be about sowing 
seed. It's our job. It's our function. It's our ministry. Issue-centered 
Christianity is the bane of modern mainline Christendom. You see 
this in the early part of the 20th century, something called 
the Social Gospel Movement. That's when a bunch of churches 
and a bunch of people said, we need to ameliorate the downtrodden 
and the poor. We need to help people. We need 
to feed people. We need to give hot dogs and chews and all those 
sorts of things and help people be all that they can be. Again, 
there's nothing wrong with doing that as long as we don't lose 
sight of the main thing. What happened to the social gospel 
movement is they lost sight of the main thing. The church became 
an institution to give out hot dogs and shoes, but the proclamation 
of God's holy truth fell by the wayside. The parable of the sower 
tells us what matters, sowing seed. This same commentator says 
that loyal Christocentricity, I like that word, being Christ-centered, 
loyal Christocentricity, which only God the Holy Spirit can 
create, and which therefore can only be prayed for, is the antidote 
to fatal issue-ism. What does the church need in 
this generation? Sowers that sow the seed. The 
means by which the kingdom comes. Jesus taught us to pray in Matthew 
6.10. May God's kingdom come. How does it do that? It's inaugurated, 
it's advancing, and it's consummated through the word of the living 
God. It is the means by which the kingdom advances forcefully. Chapter 11, verse 12. The emphasis in the parable of 
the sower is on the seed and the soils that receive or do 
not receive it. Secondly, we will explore this 
in more detail, God willing, next week in our explanation 
of verses 18 to 23. But for the moment, Jesus describes 
four types. Can you please take a moment 
in your own mind and in your own heart to ask yourselves, 
which type am I? See, we want preaching to be 
practical. We want you to go home having 
been helped. We want you to know the power 
of God's Word and how it affects one's life. So ask yourselves, 
am I hardened? Am I shallow? Am I thorny? Or am I good? A great means by 
which to scrutinize your answer is found in Matthew 6.33. When 
the Master says, seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, 
and all these things will be added to you, does that describe 
you? Is that true of you? Is it Christ 
before all? Are you like that bride who says, 
altogether lovely and chief among ten thousand? Is Jesus everything 
in your lives? You may lament, and you most 
certainly will, oh, I wish I served him more, I wish I loved him 
more, I wish I desired him more, but for the most part, by the 
grace of God, when I have a free moment, my thoughts love to run 
to Christ. When I have free time, when I 
have some extra money, when I have some extra recreational, I like 
to think about my Savior. I like to go to church. I like 
to be with the people of God. I like to read my Bible. I like 
to pray. I like the Lord's Supper. I like 
to watch people get baptized. I like to remember my baptism. 
I like to be filled with the knowledge of Jesus Christ my 
Lord. If those are your heartbeat, if that's your heartbeat or your 
response, praise God! Not you! He made the soil good! Or is it, yeah, I want enough 
Jesus to keep me out of hell, but I certainly don't want to 
affect my life with it. I want enough Jesus to keep up an appearance 
of respectability. I want enough Jesus so that my 
parents will get off my back. I want enough Jesus so that my 
wife or my husband will get off my back. I want enough Jesus 
so that this society will get off my back. I want enough Jesus 
just to make this temporal world a little bit more successful. 
Because after all, I heard that things go better with Jesus. 
That's bad. We need to repent and believe 
on the Lord Jesus Christ. Thirdly, something that jumps 
out from this passage is the necessity to listen. Verse 9. He who has ears to hear. I realize 
that in your ESV and probably your NIV, it doesn't have to 
hear. The meaning is the same. He who 
has ears to hear, listen. Pay attention. How many sermons 
have been wasted because you don't listen? How many opportunities 
have gone by the wayside because you don't come to do business 
with God? How many times have you crossed 
the threshold into this place and already been tuned out? How 
many times have you picked up the Scriptures and your mind 
has been everywhere else but on that Word? Hear what Christ 
says. Listen. Pay attention. If the blessing here are eyes 
that see and ears that hear, if the blessing here is understanding 
the Word of God, this ought to necessitate faithfulness on the 
part of hearers. Ryle says it this way, preaching 
is an ordinance of which the value can never be overrated 
in the Church of Christ. I agree with Ryle. He says, but 
it should never be forgotten that there must not only be good 
preaching, But good hearing! If Spurgeon fell out of heaven 
this morning, and he took his place behind this ball bed, and 
he preached the best 45-minute or 50-minute sermon he's ever 
preached, but your mind was elsewhere? What good is it? Pay attention! Are people more religiously committed 
to a football game than to Jesus? Do people find more fondness 
in music than in Christ? You see them all the time, don't 
you? With the earplugs in their head or the earbuds. Everybody's 
listening to music. What did we do before we had 
these things? We didn't listen to music all 
the time, that's for sure. Music is good. Music is pleasing. Music is wonderful for the soul. But music cannot save the soul. Family, friends, discussion, 
conversation. There's nothing better than the 
lovely tone of a wife's voice in the morning. Provided she's not yelling at 
you. That's a lovely tone. Not that my wife does that. But 
you don't enter the kingdom of God through that. As recreationally satisfying 
as a sporting event might be, or as whatever you're into might 
be, it doesn't save a soul. Ryle's right should never be 
forgotten, that there must not only be good preaching, but good 
hearing. He who has ears to hear, let 
him hear. And then a final observation 
that jumps out from our text. If you are a Christian, if you 
are a believer, if Jesus Christ has saved you, if God has ushered 
you out of the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of the Son of 
His love, if He has given you ears to hear, if He's given you 
eyes to see, if He's given you a heart that perceives and understands, 
blessed are you. That's what He says. We want 
our blessing at times and our happiness and our comfort in 
everything else but discipleship. I need this job and then I'll 
really be happy. I need this wife and I'll really 
be happy. I need this guy and I'll really 
be happy. If you're a believer, you ought 
to really be happy. That's what he says. Isaiah, 
Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, 
Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi, all of them, 
kings as well, long to see what you see. And you see it and you 
whine? You see it and you complain? 
You see it and you grumble? You see it and you're annoying 
to be around? You see it and have received 
it by the grace of God and you look like Eeyore from Winnie 
the Pooh? Blessed are you! Wherein lies happiness and joy? You're seeing the mysteries of 
the Kingdom. There's nothing better. There's 
nothing more wondrous. There's nothing more glorious 
to gaze upon the Son of God living, dying, rising again for you. 
There's nothing more glorious than to understand that when 
this day is done and I pillow my head, if I should die, I'm 
going to wake in the presence of God Most High. There is nothing 
better than that. And if you are not a disciple, 
you are not a believer, listen to what I'm saying. All the money 
in the world, all the sporting events in the world, all the 
music in the world, all the beautiful women and men in this world are 
nothing compared to the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus 
my Lord. This is what the Apostle said, 
I had it all, and it's like dung, it's like rubbish, it's like 
garbage, it's like that which is thrown to dogs. I have everything 
in Christ. I have everything in Jesus. This 
is why he could say, for to me to live is Christ, and to die 
is gain. You imagine that? You come to 
Paul's jail cell in the morning and you say, today's the day, 
we're going to feed you to the lions. And he has a big, fat 
smile on his face. You say, wait a minute, people 
don't smile when they're getting to be thrown to the lions. He 
says, I do. Because once those lions rip out my jugular, once 
those lions rip out my stomach, once those lions are done putting 
an end to my life, I will arise and be with my Savior. What do 
you do with a man like Paul that says, for to me to live is Christ 
and to die is gain? If you are not a Christian this 
morning, that is what you should want. That is what you should 
crave. That is what you should desire. 
Call out to God Most High, save me. Believe on the Lord Jesus 
Christ. The scripture says you will be 
saved. Well, let us pray. Our Father, 
we thank you for your word and we thank you for the teaching 
of our Lord Jesus Christ and for the fact that you have given 
us this ability to see the mysteries of the kingdom. May it not produce 
pride, but may it produce humility. May it produce dependence in 
each of your people, and may it produce lasting joy, Lord 
God. We have been blessed. We have 
been given every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ 
Jesus. We are saved, and we give you 
praise and glory for that. We ask God for those outside 
of Christ, that through the preaching of the gospel today, the Spirit 
of God would attend, and that sinners would come to know Jesus 
Christ as Lord and as Savior. And we pray in His most blessed 
name. Amen.